The Risk Matrix

Veriforce

The Risk Matrix brings weekly safety conversations that cut through the noise. Hosted by Dr. L.F. Martin (32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner) and James Junkin (ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year), they tackle OSHA rollbacks, legal trends, and the topics keeping safety managers up at night. Featuring guests from regulators to frontline leaders. New episodes every Tuesday. Powered by Veriforce. www.veriforce.com

  1. -3 j

    What the Watson Grinding Explosion Teaches Us About Process Safety

    "This is not an incident primarily about a hose being left on at night. It's bigger than that." This week Dr. Logan F. Martin and James Junkin walk through the Watson Grinding explosion in Houston, Texas, the Chemical Safety Board investigation, and the Harris County jury verdict that awarded $61.5 million against the defendants. When a propylene hose disconnected overnight in January 2020, employees arrived the next morning, smelled gas, communicated their concerns to management, and were never evacuated. The building exploded. This episode covers what the verdict means for process safety management, contractor liability, and what every safety professional needs to understand about civil litigation beyond OSHA. RESOURCES Watson Grinding Explosion, CSB Final Report$61.5 Million Verdict Coverage ABOUT THE RISK MATRIX PODCAST Buckle up, safety pros! The Risk Matrix brings you a weekly podcast masterclass in risk management, hosted by two industry titans: ⁠⁠Dr. L.F. Martin⁠⁠: 32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner ⁠⁠James Junkin⁠⁠: Trainer of 40,000+ safety pros, ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year They're tackling the topics that keep safety managers up at night featuring guests from regulatory bodies to safety directors and everything in between. Every Tuesday: The tough conversations safety managers need to have. Critical insights from safety experts. Real-world strategies. Actionable solutions. The Risk Matrix Podcast is powered by ⁠⁠⁠Veriforce⁠⁠⁠: Bringing workers home safe from high-hazard jobs.

    What the Watson Grinding Explosion Teaches Us About Process Safety
  2. 18 août

    What Construction Gets Wrong About Worker Readiness with Corey Silverman

    "Guard your signature. Guard your reputation. Because safety, even though there's a good many of us, it's a small world indeed." This week Dr. Logan F. Martin and James Junkin welcome Corey Silverman, Safety Specialist at Highwire, a Veriforce company, to discuss what the construction industry gets wrong about worker readiness. Pre-qualification tells you what a company submitted. Work readiness tells you whether the worker showing up at your gate that day can actually do the job safely. ABOUT OUR GUEST Corey Silverman is a Safety Specialist at Highwire, a Veriforce company. A Keene State College safety program graduate, Corey began his career at Amazon before moving into construction safety at Holder Construction. He later joined Autus, a construction safety technology company, before landing at Highwire where he works at the intersection of contractor management, worker readiness, and safety technology. RESOURCESOSHA Comment Period for 13 Proposed Carcinogen Rules (deadline August 21) ABOUT THE RISK MATRIX PODCAST Buckle up, safety pros! The Risk Matrix brings you a weekly podcast masterclass in risk management, hosted by two industry titans: ⁠Dr. L.F. Martin⁠: 32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner ⁠James Junkin⁠: Trainer of 40,000+ safety pros, ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year They're tackling the topics that keep safety managers up at night featuring guests from regulatory bodies to safety directors and everything in between. Every Tuesday: The tough conversations safety managers need to have. Critical insights from safety experts. Real-world strategies. Actionable solutions. The Risk Matrix Podcast is powered by ⁠⁠Veriforce⁠⁠: Bringing workers home safe from high-hazard jobs.

    What Construction Gets Wrong About Worker Readiness with Corey Silverman
  3. 21 juil.

    The Myth of Zero Risk: Why Chasing Perfect Safety Is Bankrupting Good Intentions

    Zero risk was never the goal. A deliberately defined, defensible, and economically sound threshold is." This week Dr. Logan F. Martin and James Junkin discuss Dr. Martin's July 7, 2026 article "The Myth of Zero Risk and Why Chasing Perfect Safety Is Bankrupting Good Intentions." Safety management has two failure modes: stopping at compliance or chasing zero. The real work happens somewhere in between. RESOURCESThe Myth of Zero Risk by Dr. Logan F. Martin Life Safety Alliance Top 40 (2026) ABOUT THE RISK MATRIX PODCAST Buckle up, safety pros! The Risk Matrix brings you a weekly podcast masterclass in risk management, hosted by two industry titans: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. L.F. Martin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: 32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winnerJames Junkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Trainer of 40,000+ safety pros, ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year They're tackling the topics that keep safety managers up at night featuring guests from regulatory bodies to safety directors and everything in between. Every Tuesday: The tough conversations safety managers need to have. Critical insights from safety experts. Real-world strategies. Actionable solutions. The Risk Matrix Podcast is powered by Veriforce: Bringing workers home safe from high-hazard jobs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.veriforce.com⁠

    The Myth of Zero Risk: Why Chasing Perfect Safety Is Bankrupting Good Intentions
  4. 7 juil.

    How to Build Contractor and Subcontractor Safety Partnerships with Tim Rich

    "If we have an injury, that's our injury. That is a combined shared injury between us. We get together shoulder to shoulder, we roll up our sleeves and we look at what systems, what behaviors led us to that. We don't look at it as you failed. We share the fault, we share the responsibility and we share the action to fix it." This week Dr. Logan F. Martin and James Junkin welcome Tim Rich, Construction Safety Manager at Boardwalk Pipelines, to discuss what contractor and subcontractor safety management looks like beyond the pre-qualification portal. They discuss how he builds alliance contractor relationships, what their annual Contractor Alliance Summit delivers, and why incident response is a shared responsibility between operator and contractor. ABOUT OUR GUEST Tim Rich is Construction Safety Manager at Boardwalk Pipelines, where he oversees safety and compliance on multiple large-scale construction projects throughout the United States. An award-winning safety professional with over 25 years of experience in oil and gas, manufacturing, and mining, Tim has led cross-functional teams to drive culture change toward sustainable zero-injury work environments. He holds a BS from Louisiana Tech University and is currently pursuing his MBA from LSU. ABOUT THE RISK MATRIX PODCAST Buckle up, safety pros! The Risk Matrix brings you a weekly podcast masterclass in risk management, hosted by two industry titans: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. L.F. Martin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: 32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠James Junkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Trainer of 40,000+ safety pros, ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year They're tackling the topics that keep safety managers up at night featuring guests from regulatory bodies to safety directors and everything in between. Every Tuesday: The tough conversations safety managers need to have. Critical insights from safety experts. Real-world strategies. Actionable solutions. The Risk Matrix Podcast is powered by Veriforce: Bringing workers home safe from high-hazard jobs. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.veriforce.com⁠

    How to Build Contractor and Subcontractor Safety Partnerships with Tim Rich
  5. 30 juin

    Inside ASSP Safety 2026: AI, Contractor Management, and the Future of Safety

    "It feels like a safety revival. You get there with six thousand of your best friends, you're all speaking the same language, you're supporting each other." This week Dr. Logan F. Martin and James Junkin welcome Rachel Tash, Veriforce VP of Marketing, for a first-timer's perspective on the ASSP Safety 2026 Professional Development Conference and Exposition. They discuss what safety professionals were talking about on the show floor at ASSP Safety 2026, what the industry is demanding from AI right now, and why face-to-face interaction remains irreplaceable in a profession built on trust. ABOUT THE RISK MATRIX PODCAST Buckle up, safety pros! The Risk Matrix brings you a weekly podcast masterclass in risk management, hosted by two industry titans: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. L.F. Martin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: 32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠James Junkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Trainer of 40,000+ safety pros, ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year They're tackling the topics that keep safety managers up at night featuring guests from regulatory bodies to safety directors and everything in between. Every Tuesday: The tough conversations safety managers need to have. Critical insights from safety experts. Real-world strategies. Actionable solutions. The Risk Matrix Podcast is powered by Veriforce: Bringing workers home safe from high-hazard jobs. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.veriforce.com⁠

    Inside ASSP Safety 2026: AI, Contractor Management, and the Future of Safety

À propos

The Risk Matrix brings weekly safety conversations that cut through the noise. Hosted by Dr. L.F. Martin (32-year veteran, Board of Global EHS Credentialing Impact Award winner) and James Junkin (ASSP's 2024 Safety Professional of the Year), they tackle OSHA rollbacks, legal trends, and the topics keeping safety managers up at night. Featuring guests from regulators to frontline leaders. New episodes every Tuesday. Powered by Veriforce. www.veriforce.com